Help! Don't know anything about staining a deck!

Hi All,

Hopefully I'm posting this in the right subforum. My home was built 6 years ago and my wood deck is in desperate need of being restained. I'm strongly considering doing the job myself, but I have never stained a deck before.

1) Has anyone here ever stained their own deck? Is it a fairly simple process? I'm assuming I'll need to power wash the deck first.
2) Has anyone ever hired a contractor to do this project for them? I'd much rather hire a contractor but I don't even know if there are contractors that specialize in this service. Do you think it would be alot more expensive to hire a contractor?
3) What products/deck stains are best for this type of project? Do you know if contractors use a product that is better than what homeowners can buy? I want to make sure that a high quality stain is used so that I don't have to worry about this again any time soon.

I guess I just need to figure out what I am going to do. The summer is half over and I really need to get started on this project if I am going to need to start soon. Thanks in advance!

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Hopefully I'm posting this in the right subforum. My home was built 6 years ago and my wood deck is in desperate need of being restained. I'm strongly considering doing the job myself, but I have never stained a deck before.

1) Has anyone here ever stained their own deck? Is it a fairly simple process? I'm assuming I'll need to power wash the deck first.
2) Has anyone ever hired a contractor to do this project for them? I'd much rather hire a contractor but I don't even know if there are contractors that specialize in this service. Do you think it would be alot more expensive to hire a contractor?
3) What products/deck stains are best for this type of project? Do you know if contractors use a product that is better than what homeowners can buy? I want to make sure that a high quality stain is used so that I don't have to worry about this again any time soon.

I guess I just need to figure out what I am going to do. The summer is half over and I really need to get started on this project if I am going to need to start soon. Thanks in advance!

In a stain or paint job, it's the prep work that can make or break a job. Depending on the deck's shape, you might need to sand, replace boards, power wash, etc. You need to determine a course of action first.
Try posting photos of the deck.
Ron